Katie = Sweetie

Katie was very sweet last night. I cleaned up her knex (for what seems like the thousandth time) because I was tired of asking her to do it.

After I was done and had put them away on the high shelf in the hall closet, she looked at me and said, "Mommy, thank you for cleaning up my knex. Will they be high up in that closet for a long time?" And I sighed and said "You can probably have them back in a day or so." I just have to NOT have to pick them up for a while so I can recharge.

She also came to me and said, "Mommy, you need to eat dinner, then watch the rest of your show, then do your excercise, then go to bed. Okay?"

She's such a little mommy.

Oh, and I gotta tell you this! I got home yesterday and Katie came upstairs and said "Mommy, my hair is down. I a beautiful princess... And your hair is down too! I a beautiful princess just like you!"

Awww.

She's got moments that I just am amazed at how sweet, smart, wonderful, cute, EVERYTHING she is! And then there are moments when I wonder who's child she is because she's being so naughty! Must get that from John's side of the gene pool.

Oh, I forgot to mention... We've all got colds.

Me and Jake are in the thick of it and Katie seems to have recovered with only an icky cough lingering.

John seems fine... He seems to just get through stuff easier so lucky ducky for him.

Jake has his 1 year check up on March 2nd and Katie has hers on April 22nd. Both of them get shots.

Fun.

Katie is a little high strung

Katie has had sharing issues. I've posted about them before but never have they been so apparent than they were a few nights ago.

Jake got a bunny for his birthday and it says stuff when you push it's hand, ear, foot, tummy, etc. It's a little obnoxious but cute.

Jake dropped his bunny from the chair and before I could pick it up, Katie had it. She had a death grip on this bunny, holding it in her arms much like I would hold sleepy Jake. She didn't give it back after I told her to. And she had no intention of ever letting it go from the looks of it.

She twined her fingers together and said "No, Mommy! I looooove this puppy, I not give him to Jake."

After more cajoling, "No! See my fingers? My fingers are locked tight and I don't have the key."

Turns out that mommy had the key and Katie got to reflect upon her behaviour in time out. Which I'm sure she did... in between the screams to "LET ME OUUUUUUUTT!!!" over and over. I'm just glad that she still sits in her time out (she could get up at any time and run off but, whew, she doesn't yet.) even if she does scream like the dickens.

Last night I pulled a bunch of her toys and put them away. She'll earn each one back with good behaviour but at the rate we're going, I wouldn't be surprised if I find a bag of toys 10 years from now still hidden in the closet.

I know it's just a phase. And I know she'll grow out of it (maybe not till Jake can fight back for what he wants). And we love her so I guess we'll keep her till that happens.

Dancing with the Stars whooped my tushy

Dancing with the Stars is a great show. I just like dancing and the fact that they throw together semi-lebrities and actual dancers well, I'll just say it's entertaining.

So last year around Christmas I was wondering the aisles at my favorite Target store and as I was sashaying past the workout gear toward the dairy aisle (yay SuperTarget) I saw it.

The DWtS excercise video.

It was about $15 and there was no way I was going to spend that much on a workout video that I would probably* give up on a week after starting it so I went on my way. But I thought about that video. Even took a pic on my phone since it might make a good Christmas present for me.

*probably = definately

But I didn't get it for Christmas so I forgot about it... until another trip past the workout section at Target when I saw the video for ... $10! And I bought it. I had been so good about my elliptical workouts and was ready to move to the next level - actual full body movement.

And I used it... and have been using it for about 3 weeks. And let me tell you it's the best video EVER. It's tough and sometimes I have to slow down the DVD player to 1/16 of the speed so I can see the actual moves to mimic them... but I've been doing great and if not mastering some of the moves, at least I haven't been triping over my feet (anymore).

I've gotten in better shape and I can actually feel my muscles strengthen and I think I've lost some fat because my skinny weight jeans (that are actually a size 22 - don't judge me) are LOOSE!

I don't know what better reward there could be for letting Dancing with the Stars whoop my tushy.

Katie gets to the point...

Last night just before I was about to head to bed, Katie comes to me and puts her head on my arm.

She looks at me with her "I love you" eyes and says, "Mommy, remember that night?, a little while ago, when I was scared and I cried and cried and you put Kipper on the TV? Remember that? And you said I could sleep in the living room... and you rocked me in the rocking chair and we snuggled? Remember? And then you went to bed... and you let me sleep in the living room and I watched my shows?"

And I said, "Yeeeeessssss?"

And she said, "Mommy, could you do that again?"

I told her that Mommy was going to bed and that she could come with me and we could snuggle while watching TV. That didn't work for her... because all she wanted to do was watch her shows.

Yay Jake!!!

We celebrated Jake's 1st birthday on Saturday. It was a blast! Mom and Dad took the kids to the lake on Friday night so John and I had tons of time to prepare and decorate. And go to dinner together. And go shopping. So we did all that.
Jake's birthday theme for small plates, napkins, and a banner that said "Happy Birthday" was Mickey and Co. Everything else was generic.

The food was from Sam's Club. We had sandwiches, veggies, chips, and a delicious cake. And Mom brought a pistachio salad. Loved the food and so did everyone else! We only had a few croissants and chicken salad, cake, and veggies left.

Jake got lots of cute things and played with it all on Sunday. He would have wanted to dig in on Saturday except he was tired and went to sleep at about 7:30.

I didn't expect that, especially after the sugar rush I thought he would get after eating a whole slice of cake!

He was crying when we set him in his high chair and by the time I fed him a little frosting, he was interested in his cake. He totally made a mess but it was mostly on him and his tray and not on the floor! Kayla was going to give him a bath afterwards but he ended up not wanting to play in the water (he actually peed on her leg between dips in the tub! Sorry Kayla!). Katie and Paigey did so in they went. Spent about 30 minutes playing and laughing. Then it was jammy time and more play time.

All in all, a great day!

We did need to institute a new rule for Katie. If it's Jake's toy, it stays on the floor. I only had to mention that rule about 30 times last night... after I found a toy on the kitchen table, then on Katie's bed, and then on the bathroom counter. She knows the rule but doesn't seem to remember it when she's got a toy she doesn't want him to have. I can see the road ahead and it is rocky.

Oh, I went to a Scentsy party yesterday. Those things are cool. I ordered two; one for downstairs (so someone can STOP burning incense and use this instead!) and one for upstairs. They are for warming wax and use a lightbulb. The wax gets warm, not hot, and if it spills it should come up without staining. Perfect for a house with kids! Can't wait to get mine!

Dear Whoever needed a closer look at daddy's laptop,

Dear Whoever needed a closer look at daddy's laptop,
Now, I 'm not naming names (only because I don't know who the instigator was) but SOMEone touched Daddy's laptop. SOMEone pulled it off of the table and onto the chair. SOMEone managed to bend the disk drive tray till it broke completely off of the laptop. SOMEone almost put daddy into cardiac arrest. I wasn't there to see it but I bet his face got red and his eyes were shooting fire.

In the future, please keep your hands to yourself when it concerns very expensive equipment.

Love, Mommy
~~~
Dear John,

It took me awhile to realize you were going through stages of mourning but your laptop is not a person. Snap out of it already.

Actually, get it all out. I'm understanding like that. But if anything ever happens to me, I want you to lie in bed and moan about your loss just as much. M'kay?

Love, Your Wife
~~~
Dear Geek Squad Guy #1,

Thanks for worrying me and making us revisit our finances to see if we could afford the estimated $220 charge to fix our lapop. Thanks for not checking with someone who might know what they are doing to see if there would be an easier fix than you mentioned.

I don't like you and I've never even met you. Pppfftt.

Worried Customer
~~~
Dear Geek Squad Guy #2,

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you for telling us that we could pull out the drive and buy an EXTERNAL one. And for taking the time to pull out the battery so our laptop could function again. I'm so glad you have your multiple degrees! I know you usually work in the back room so you shouldn't have even been behind the counter helping us... but your help sure saved a lot of money and now... we lurv you.

Mwah!

Super Happy Customer

Elliptical Machine, oh Elliptical Machine...

How I love thee.

I've visited you every night since my return from Texas and each time you never fail to make my knees week and my palms sweat.

XO XO XO

Facebook Reprint - The things kids say and do...

Katie was counting and wanted me to repeat the word. She got to four in Spanish and she said "fuafro" and I said "cuatro" because that's what it is. Katie said "No, no, no. Fuafro mommy."
Katie just put herself in time out. Jake fell and when I asked her if she pushed him and she said no. A few minutes later she said "Mommy, I in time out. I pushed Jake." And she sat there for awhile. : )

Katie just said "mommy give me your hand..." so I put my hand over by her, expecting her to hug my arm or something sweet, instead... she held my hand and spit out the gooey gummy candy she had been chewing. Ick. Like I wanted it.

I just heard Katie say "Jakey, I'm not a chew toy! Say your sorry.". and then in a high voice she said "Sorry" and told me that Jakey said sorry!

Who thinks Jake made it into the bathtub all by himself? According to Katie he did but she wouldn't look me in the eye. I suspect she had some part in helping him into the still wet tub. Changed his pants again (after just putting his jammies on him).

Katie is getting ready to go to a glass bead. I think she means a ball. She's putting on all of her barrettes and jewelry on. and she's dancing in the living room. if you call king around and pretending to bump into everyone. jake just fell on me and Katie said "say sorry jacob!"

Katie just told me "I love Christmas... Every kid loves Christmas." and she's said it now about 20 times! Now she's starting to fall asleep. Still saying "I love Christmas.". Ob and she just threw in "I love presents.". hee hee!

do I talk too much? katie just told me to stop talking. Then she told me that she has to go to sleep. Her "brain" told her she have to go to sleep. I guess I was keeping her awake.

Katie told me tonight that "Mommy, if you die... I will still love you." Kindof strange, oddly touching.

Spaghetti anyone?

Remember my previous post about Katie and her nests? Well, John thought he had found all of the hiding spots the day she decided to get creative with dry pasta but she's trickier than we thought.

I was in her room and decided to wash the new pillow case that had been sitting on her little desk. When I picked it up, lo and behold, I found another stash of pasta. At least a cup worth.

So I decided to look at the room with "mommy vision" and found two other spots John missed. Mostly because the noodles are only a few shades lighter than the hardwood floor and partly because he forgot that 4 year olds (in April) are much sneakier and kinda smarter than moms and dads would expect.

It's funny that she made nests out of noodles. It's not funny to find them all over the bedroom she shares with Jake, who likes to put anything in his mouth.

I think we can finally say that, today we ARE smarter than a 4 year old. But ask me again tomorrow as the answer might have changed.